So, I didn't need to start another story, but I have anyway...so yeah. But CourtneyMisfitMarie inspired me to write this, so here goes nothing.
I have read this so many times, so I'm hoping there aren't any mistakes. If there are, please forgive me.
I don't own, only my OC.
Nothing was normal anymore. Ever since the storm, nothing had been. And Elsie Cooper, was one hundred per cent sure that nothing ever would be again.
She had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or depending on how you looked at it, the wrong place at the right time; wearing an itchy paint stained orange jump suit, not so patiently waiting for the Probation Worker to unlock the doors to the Community Centre as abnormal sized hail fell all around them. Then out of nowhere, her world had turned black, the only thing she could feel was the pain as the lightening had hit her. Her skin burning and her brain buzzing. The world had seemingly fallen in slow motion as they had flown backwards several feet.
Then as she had landed-hard- on the pavement, back first swiftly followed by the back of her head, that was when the real pain had truly begun. The migraine she had suffered for the rest of the day had been the worst in her life, her nose had bled for over an hour to relieve the pressure the next morning. Not to mention the way her limbs ached, protesting with every step she took.
But it wasn't over. Yes, the pain had vanished as she had slept and she had eventually been able to breath properly through her nose once more without the fear of it bleeding again. But things had changed.
It had first started the moment she had got home from Community Service that day. As the evening had turned the bright sky into a blanket of darkness, much like it had looked when the storm clouds had gathered, Elsie had been lying on her settee, unmoving and, even with her migraine, bored out of her mind. She had wanted to check out the news to see if anything about the storm would be reported. But from her spot, she could not find the remote and she wasn't desperate enough to get up and move around lest her head start pounding even more. She took a few moments to argue with herself in her mind about actually getting up and finding the bloody thing.
When she eventually decided to move (and that was only because her stomach had grumbled about the lack of food it had been given) she made her way to the kitchen, wishing the damn thing would just turn itself on.
As she had rifled through the cupboards to see what she could make herself, she had heard through the kitchen door, the faint sounds of voices. Momentarily forgetting her migraine in her slight panic, she had reached for the nearest weapon; a rolling pin that Elsie could never remember ever being used, and slowly crept back towards the doorway. Pressing her ear against the wood she listened carefully, clutching the utensil tighter and tighter with every breath she took. If someone had broken into her flat, she wasn't letting them get away with it lightly. After all, the Police wouldn't actually do anything. Even if they did, the Courts wouldn't. Of that she had been sure.
But the more she heard, the more confused she had become.
It wasn't actually talking voices she had heard. It was singing voices. No burglar or God forbid rapist would break into her flat and start singing. With a deep breath, she edged her way into the front room that was now illuminated by the light of the Television and the music channel she had been listening to this morning before she had left.
She had taken the time to search the rest of the flat. But no one had been there.
As the light from the screen reminded her of her migraine, bringing it back to the forefront of her mind with a vengeance, she had gently shaken her head and told herself she had probably trodden on the remote on her way to the kitchen, completely forgetting about her wish and her earlier want to see the news. She had turned it off, erasing it from her mind as soon as she had entered the kitchen again.
It was only when Kelly had asked the next day while they attempted to clean graffiti from the walls of the Community Centre if any of them had felt 'Dead weird' that the memory jumped out at her. But she had said nothing. Only shook her head at the girl next to her and listened to the Irish idiot on the other side of her as he babbled on about his anus. If it hadn't been for the panic she felt as they had found the body of Gary, beaten and bloody, unceremoniously stuffed into a locker, she would not have thought of it for a long time to come. In her hysteria, the lights had begun to flicker uncontrollably as she herself had begun to shake. Kelly, showing her caring side, had taken Elsie's hand in an attempt to calm her. With her slight calmness, the lights had stopped flickering.
With the lights back to normal, had come the realisation that maybe it had been something to do with her, and the re-telling of what had happened the night before. Simon, always the sensible one, had asked her to turn them off completely. She had felt stupid, especially as moments before, they had been running for their lives, but she had complied and wished for the lights to turn off. As soon as the words were spoken in her mind, the lights turned off. Alisha, who had also been visibly shaken by the sight of the body, demanded they be turned back on and feeling uneasy herself, Elsie had. The attention quickly turned from her to the frizzy haired girl when Curtis had touched her, causing him to practically turn into a rapist then and there.
Since that day, everything had changed. They had not been the only ones to be hit by the storm. Standing on the roof of the Community Centre, Nathan had proclaimed that others gaining powers would only happen in America, as if they were a special group of misfits the storm had handpicked itself.
But they had met others with powers. Some of them were powers that couldn't do much harm. (Unless you had been the guy to have sex with an 83 year old woman and only find out that important fact when it was far too late. That was scarring, not to mention unnerving when you discovered the 83 year old in question was a great Aunt.)
Some had pretty boring powers that, according to Curtis, were somehow used in lethal ways.
Others had powers that were just bad to begin with; the Power of Suggestion that the head of the Virtue organisation had used on them and the majority of the community, leading up to catastrophic events, being one of Elsie's least favourite memories. (Her memory of actually being a part of the organisation escaped her no matter how hard she tried to remember. It was the thought that she had been wearing a pink cardigan, bland beige dress and had got rid of the red dye from her hair and her lip piercing that unsettled her, not to mention Nathan being impaled on the fence.)
The only extraordinary thing about Elsie's power was that she could turn things on and off. This had been enough for Nathan to tease her non-stop about it not being from the A-list. She had managed to shut him up though when she had manipulated the vending machine into giving her free food without having to violently shake it.
It was nothing special, but she was more than happy with it. There had been times when she wished for something more, and meeting Seth had raised her hopes. But he was a dealer. Charged too much to clients who were looking to get a new power, and she wasn't exactly willing to swap hers for something else.
So she had kept it. No, it couldn't necessarily save the world, but if she was feeling particularly lazy, she didn't have to bother getting out of bed to turn the lights off.
Now, all those weeks later, she had survived Community Service. Even after all the shit that had happened, and it was something she was rather proud of. Along the way, she had managed to make friends, becoming closer to them with everything they had had to deal with.
She was unsure of what the future would bring, but the fact that the gang of people she had grown to love- yes she would go as far to say that each of them held a special place in her heart, even if she hadn't wanted them there in the beginning- were still willing to hang out with her, made her happy.
Having a job helped too. Even if it wasn't much of a job, serving from behind a bar and wiping down tables wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, but it meant she wasn't going insane having to look at the same four walls all day every day. It meant that she got to look at the miserable four walls of the bar that had for some reason hired her along with Curtis. She had the suspicion it was more to do with the fact that she had worn a blouse that hadn't fitted properly when she went for the interview than the fact that she had some waitressing skills. She had managed to avoid that mistake again and had opted for her usual t shirt that was always two sizes too big. But that didn't stop the patrons that frequented the place from flirting with her. Though she was never sure if they actually wanted to get in her knickers or were just trying to get free drinks. Either way, she never flirted back, often choosing to ignore the eyes that followed her around the room, and the tips they left her in the hopes she would remember them for the next time they came for a drink.
Not only did her shifts earn her money to pay the bills, it also meant she could put some money aside for getting out of Wertham and the shit it bought with it. But sometimes, she just wished her shifts would go a little quicker when her friends weren't there. If it wasn't for them visiting her, or Curtis being right by her side, she was certain she would be thoroughly miserable.
She hadn't been stood behind the bar very long that evening when her phone went off in her pocket, signalling she had a text. She retrieved it, already knowing who it would be from. Sure enough Curtis had messaged her, informing her that he, along with everyone else, were on their way.
She smiled as she placed her phone back in her pocket and took out the mini chopping board used to slice up the lemons and limes for the drinks, noticing the lights become somewhat brighter with her grin.
Nothing was normal anymore. Ever since the storm, nothing had been. But for the moment, Elsie Cooper was happy.
Let me know what you think?